Drawing the Line: The Jurisprudence of Non-Consensual Pornography and the Implications of Kanye West’s Famous Music Video

Authors

Karla Utset

Abstract

In June 2016, American rapper Kanye West premiered the music video for Famous from his seventh studio album “The Life of Pablo.” West’s Famous music video, inspired by Vincent Desiderio’s painting Sleep, features nude replications of several celebrities lying together on a bed. The cinematography is voyeuristic, with one journalist describing the video as “predatory.” In making and publicizing the infamous music video, West failed to seek and acquire the consent of several of the individuals featured. The production received both considerable praise and backlash from artists, critics, and the celebrities depicted.

This Note discusses the jurisprudence of non-consensual pornography, known as “revenge porn,” in the United States. While non-consensual pornography legislation advocates push for federal criminalization of non-consensual pornography, opponents raise issues of First Amendment violations and “Internet exceptionalism.” This Note explores West’s Famous music video’s relation to NCP, examining instances in which art has blurred the line between legal and illegal conduct or content.

Recommended Citation

Karla Utset, Drawing the Line: The Jurisprudence of Non-Consensual Pornography and the Implications of Kanye West’s Famous Music Video, 72 U. Mia. L. Rev. 920 (2018)
Available at: https://repository.law.miami.edu/umlr/vol72/iss3/8